Cops who do this sort of thing are not really interested in fighting crime. They're interested in the power the badge gives them. They're basically lazy and go for the low hanging fruit. Such individuals are often lackadaisical with other aspects of the job and this can easily be seen by superiors who are conscious of their subordinates behavior and trained to observe their working habits outside of just keeping the positions filled and their own positions protected from scrutiny, especially when their own position is dependent on a conscientious application of the rules and responsibilities of the job.

These people need to be weeded out early in their careers, they are unsuitable for for the work.

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptable. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."- Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse Dune

Here's a story where the cop admits to being a power hungry dickhead, and fark is still going after the civilian for being on a bike. With one doosh even citing some completely non-related incident involving a copmletely different cyclist.

CruiserTwelve:Deathfrogg: Felony arrests get them the promotions. Traffic citations do not.

I suggest you research the promotional system in the LAPD.

That being said, I'm sure the cop was assigned to patrol the bike path because of complaints and he was just trying to do what he was assigned to do. He stopped a violator and got an argument so he wrote an attitude ticket. I don't agree with attitude tickets so the cop was wrong in doing that, but I doubt this was as big a deal as it appears to be.

It would seem that individuals who receive such assignments are often the people that the superiors want to keep out of the way for a period. The Seattle Detective I know has said this in so many words. The assholes and dumbasses get the shiat assignments and are kept out of the way of doing real police work and often don't get promoted. Of course, this probably only reinforces their behavior by frustrating their own sense of superhero/crimefighter status, but it is their own attitude that gets them into the situation.

A well-run police department bureaucracy understands that a certain percentage of jerks, bullies, liars and sociopaths will get through the training and culling process. The departments that are having discipline issues or a lot of brutality complaints are the ones that have forsaken the culling process in favor of merely keeping the positions filled. Probably because the job is crap and doesn't pay enough.

It's hard to maintain a good attitude when the outside observers nitpick every aspect of ones work. The departments that have the most problems have consciously made the decision to ignore the problems and complaints and go out of their way to protect the jerks instead of getting them off the force. This only serves to reinforce the critics' position.

Police Departments need to do a much better job of weeding out the assholes. It must be much easier to fire a cop for wrongdoing or lazy behavior. Any act of perjury or unnecessary brutality should be grounds for termination, even in a long term career officer. You shouldn't be able to fire someone just for being a dickhead occasionally, but you should for a continuing pattern of dickish or brutish behavior, both on and off the job. We don't need thugs or bullies on the job. We don't need daily drinkers or neighborhood tough guys doing the work. And we sure as shiat don't need sociopaths running around with a firearm and the power of the State behind them to protect them from scrutiny.

Tat'dGreaser:Wait a minute, at what point does he start recording? If it's after he's been stopped by the officer, we're supposed to take his word that he didn't do anything wrong? Most police officers will give you a break if you're not a dick.

The ticket was cancelled so it sounds like it was the cop who was in the wrong. And just because someone's acting like a jerk doesn't mean they're breaking the law. Since when does wearing a badge means the cop is assumed to be in the right?

I hate this story because it makes me defend the bicyclist. I feel dirty over it.

Beerguy:serial_crusher: CalvinMorallis: Actually,. the way I read it, the biker DID, in fact, break the law, and the cop explained to him that, more or less, he probably wouldn't have been cited for it--for the law that he did break--if he hadn't been a dick. So, kind of like every traffic cop interaction ever, huh?

Officer: "the reason I'm giving you a ticket for unsafe speed is because you're arguing with me"So, which law did he break? was he speeding, because in that case shouldn't that have been the reason he was given the ticket?Keep in mind this was after the cop already accused him of riding on the wrong side of the road, but for some reason decided not to make that what he was ticketing him about.

I'm the first to call out videos that don't show the whole story, but from the part we did see, that cop is at least a terrible communicator.

Don't forget that the guy was only driving on the wrong side because the Cop was blocking the guys direction to begin with.

Whenever a cop blocks the highway, I just jump on the opposite lane of traffic.

Tat'dGreaser:Wait a minute, at what point does he start recording? If it's after he's been stopped by the officer, we're supposed to take his word that he didn't do anything wrong? Most police officers will give you a break if you're not a dick.

Read the article again, slowly this time. Pay particular attention to the quote where the cop outlines his rationale for giving the guy a ticket.

Actually,. the way I read it, the biker DID, in fact, break the law, and the cop explained to him that, more or less, he probably wouldn't have been cited for it--for the law that he did break--if he hadn't been a dick. So, kind of like every traffic cop interaction ever, huh?

Wait a minute, at what point does he start recording? If it's after he's been stopped by the officer, we're supposed to take his word that he didn't do anything wrong? Most police officers will give you a break if you're not a dick.

muck4doo:The other option is try to be a decent human being and get out of the business of robbing people of their liberty.

I'm not saying this from nothing. I used to be a repo guy throughout the Bay Area. San jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, you name it. I always felt i was doing everyone a favor going after deadbeats. My mother convinced me i had grown a cruel heart when I went repoing in oakland one christmas. I even joked about it. Afterwards i saw the truth and felt like shiat. Being a cop is like that. I'm sure you joined thinking you are protecting the public, but are you really? Tell me how the cop here was doing the right thing?

Mock26:The whole "there are more serious crimes" whine is really, really lame, and people who use it are morons. And, Yes, in retrospect the guy probably would have been better off not saying a word to the police officer. If it was me I would have simply gone around him and muttered under my breath about him being a dick. But, I am not everyone. Others are more vocal than I am in these situations. Not only that, but the guy has a Constitutionally protected right to say what he said. He did not go out of his way to be a dick. He merely expressed his opinion to the police officer that he was blocking the path. The only person being a dick in the video is the police officer. He got a case of butt hurt over being told off by a cyclist and then tries to come up with any reason at all to ticket the guy.

You only need to see the first 5 seconds to get the gist... when the cop says "the reason I'm giving you a ticket is because you're arguing with me", he's crossed the line into indefensible territory, no matter what else may have happened off camera. Nobody forced the guy to become a cop, he should understand what it is he signed up for... which is to enforce the laws of his jurisdiction, not to give people "lessons" on being polite by summoning them to court. If he can't figure that out, he needs to get a different job.

It all goes back to treating people decent. If your not a dick to a cop, waitress, cashier, etc then they will most likely be decent to you too.

If you're a dick to a waitress, you may have to wait a while longer while she tells the cook to slow down your order. If you're a dick to a cashier, you may get a dirty look behind your back and they might talk about you after you leave. But as the evidence here shows, if you're a dick to a cop, you may get a falsified ticket and have to defend yourself in court for something you didn't actually do. One of these things is not like the other. It all goes back to abuse of extraordinary police powers - something cashiers and waitresses don't have.

Now, I see where you're coming from - the guy could have handled it differently, certainly. But it really doesn't matter how he handled it - the cop abused his power (twice, if you want to get picky - once for blocking traffic, and once for falsifying a ticket), which was an entirely disproportionate response. The biker was entitled to argue the ticket, the cop took it personally and got vindictive. My douchbagometer shows level 3 for the biker, but level 8 for the cop.

Slappajo:radiumsoup: Slappajo: So why couldn't the bicyclist go around the cop, mind his own business, and keep his mouth shut?

Sounds like the bicyclist wanted some attention so he got it...

You should give lectures on the merits of liberty in a free society.

Oh, wait, no... I was thinking of someone else.

There's a difference between "liberty" and going out of your way to be an asshole.

Um.... what? That's like saying there's a difference between a V8 engine and a bowl of chopped cabbage. Of course there's a difference, one is a universally applicable philosophical construct and the other is a socially disruptive action made by an individual.

The concept of liberty gives the bicyclist the ability to be an asshole - but it does not give the cop, who is bound by strict rules of the use of extraordinary legal authority, the ability to use those police powers to restrict that liberty through the supposition of an imaginary infraction. That is, of course, unless you can cite the applicable code where "being an asshole" is grounds for receiving a ticket for speeding on a bicycle. If the cop had kept his mouth shut and given him the ticket for swerving out of the lane as he had indicated originally, we'd be having a different discussion about how the cop was simply blocking traffic - one that would very likely still come out in the bicyclist's favor given the data we know. Instead, we're discussing how the cop was an "official asshole" by exceeding his authority and got caught on camera. We expect the general public to be assholes, it's human nature to be selfish. But we expect police to take responsibility for the extraordinary powers they have. This cop clearly failed the test.

I am a volunteer in a police support agency here in Utah, so I deal with lots of officers from many different agencies all the time.Most of them are ego-maniacal douchebags that will go out of their way to manufacture a reason to arrest someone.Some of the discussions I have heard have almost made me quit the program, but the service to the community is more important.And..I always think of the saying "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer".I can see 99% of the cops here in Utah planting evidence without batting and eye and high fiveing each other afterwards.

I had no idea Fark was full of so much anti-bike sentiment. You'd think half the people on here as kids had their puppies run over by a cyclist running a red light, who then stopped and told them that Santa wasn't real, the tooth fairy didn't exist, and that their parents were getting a divorce and it was all their fault.

Yes, cyclists can act like jerks, so can cars, so can pedestrians, so can everyone. Why the particular hate over bikes? Plus, that guy was riding a granny beach cruiser ON THE BEACH. I could see hating on some spandex clad speed demon, but this guy? Come on.

I happen to know Chris in person and helped share this virally. The comments above show how blinded by reality so many farkers are. The cops were blocking the path. He had to switch sides to ride past. Its a huge possibility the cop recognized him as someone who does activism in the area. He's also a Veteran. And I doubt he was speeding either as he was recovering from a leg injury.

CruiserTwelve:I agree with everything you said but I'll add this: In my experience with three different law enforcement agencies, cops that are bullies rarely last very long. They burn out quickly because they find out police work is generally boring and repetitious, or they get tired of being constantly scrutinized and disciplined for their bad behavior.

I find this hard to believe- if the bad cops 'burn out' quickly, then there would be no more bad cops. People who would make bad cops wouldn't apply to such a "boring and repetitious" job.

Of course, there ARE bad cops, so, since the logic is sound, the assumptions we start with ("cops that are bullies rarely last") must be wrong.

You only need to see the first 5 seconds to get the gist... when the cop says "the reason I'm giving you a ticket is because you're arguing with me", he's crossed the line into indefensible territory, no matter what else may have happened off camera. Nobody forced the guy to become a cop, he should understand what it is he signed up for... which is to enforce the laws of his jurisdiction, not to give people "lessons" on being polite by summoning them to court. If he can't figure that out, he needs to get a different job.

The only thing the LAPD cares about nowadays is revenue. Good luck getting them to do anything closely related to serving or protecting. All they do is write chicken shiat tickets, like jay-walking tickets. Where is all that money going? I mean it's not like we don't pay taxes at a high rate out here.

There is a reason why a lot of people simply don't care when they read/hear about a cop getting shot. Half of the cops out there are terrible people. We probably should have better oversight of them, because it really makes it hard for the other half that aren't terrible people to do their job.

So, we need stricter gun control. The gunsturbators need to feel like bad-asses.

Let's send a memo, all gun owners who wish to participate are allowed to "practice" on all these bike assholes - imagine them wearing red coats, coming for your liberty.Once they're all gone, you need to turn in your gun.

It's a win-win.

Or...

We could put out PSAs encouraging potential public shooters to direct their fire in more constructive ways. Not saying at cyclists necessarily (*cough*CriticalMass) we could probably as a society come up with good suggestions...say, the next Westboro Baptist Church protest.

skinink:The ticket was cancelled so it sounds like it was the cop who was in the wrong. And just because someone's acting like a jerk doesn't mean they're breaking the law. Since when does wearing a badge means the cop is assumed to be in the right?

I hate this story because it makes me defend the bicyclist. I feel dirty over it.

Well if they did cancel it, then probably the cop was in the wrong. I just hate this "turn the video on at the right time" kind of justice. I think both people involved are dicks.